The Conflagration
by The Devil's Favourite Demon
Summary: A destructive force is tearing through the WWE, shaking up everybody and everything. Brought together by circumstance and common enemies, a small group of Superstars and Divas have to put aside their differences and stand up for everything they know and love, before it's all torn to shreds.
1. Chapter 01

**Chapter 01**

* * *

As the minutes until her Survivor Series matches drained away, AJ Lee sat in the Diva's locker-room with her eyes closed and tried to clear her mind. It was something she'd been doing regularly for several months, ever since she realised her naturally excitable personality was leading to more losses than wins. As soon as she put it all together, she'd taken the time to do some research and talk to some veterans to find out how they did it. Her efforts had paid off.

Taking a few minutes before each match to compartmentalise everything, blocking out everything but the focus on winning had done wonders for her in-ring performance. It helped her win the Diva's title all those months ago at Payback, and allowed her to successfully defend it against all comers since then.

Eyes still closed, AJ ran her fingers lightly over the title, which was sitting on a chair next to her. Her lips twisted up into a small smile as she traced the familiar design on the belt's face.

_Mine, _she thought, _all mine._

"Hey, AJ!" The sudden voice snapped AJ out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes to the smiling face of her fellow Diva, Natalya.

"Hey, Nattie." The two Divas had become friends over the past few months. During a match on RAW with Brie Bella, Natalya had been dumped over the ropes and injured her spine. She was recovering nicely, but she was still a couple months away from returning to the ring. With her not being in the title picture, it allowed the two to become close without worry of any backstabbing or anything like that. Out of everybody in the WWE, AJ considered the Dungeon Diva to be her closest friend.

As always, Natalya was accompanied by her long-time boyfriend, Tyson Kidd and his newest tag-team partner, Sheamus. Tyson nodded politely to her, even as the Irish superstar came forward, a wide smile on his face. "Ready for your match, lass?" he asked, stepping up next to Natalya.

Slowly, AJ rose to her feet, bringing the title with her. For a moment, she stood there, just staring at the belt. Then she smiled, just a slight curling of her upper lip, and looked up at the trio standing before her. "Yes," she stated, voice ringing with conviction. "I'm ready. Kaitlyn isn't going to know what hit her."

"Good for you, lass." He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "Show her what you're made of! You've got this."

"He's right," Natalya said, throwing an arm over the smaller woman's shoulders and pulling her close. "I've been in that ring with both of you, so I know. But listen, you need to be careful." She paused as Tyson opened the locker-room door for the two Divas to pass through. They stepped out into the deserted, the two men right behind them. "I don't have a great feeling about tonight. It might not be anything, but something's definitely up with Kaitlyn lately. You know what I mean?"

AJ knew exactly what Natalya was talking about. She'd noticed it herself over the last few weeks. For whatever reason, there was always a little smirk on her former friend's face, like she knew something nobody else did. And while Kaitlyn had never been a particularly reserved or calm person, lately she'd taken her self-confidence to a whole other level, walking around like she owned the company. It was strange, out-of-character, and had been the main topic of conversation in the locker-room more than once lately.

But AJ wasn't worried. She couldn't spend her time thinking about what was going on with her opponent. All she could do was focus on her upcoming match, on her own skills and what she could bring to the table. That was all that mattered.

"Don't worry, Nattie," the Divas champion said, giving her friend a light squeeze with one arm. "I know what I need to do."

Natalya didn't look but convinced, but she turned her worried expression into a smile for her friends benefit. "Okay. Just… be ready for anything. Like I said, I've got a bad feeling. I don't trust Kaitlyn. She'd do anything to win that title from you."

AJ laughed at that and paused long enough to give her friend a real hug. "Thanks for the concern, Nattie. I appreciate it, really. But if Kaitlyn wants to turn this into a war, I am one hundred percent ready for whatever she's got. One way or another, she'll be tapping out to the Black Widow at the end." She believed that as much as she believed in anything. Was it arrogance? Maybe a little. But AJ had put herself to the test before. She knew what she was capable of, and that gave her all the confidence in the world.

Once they started moving again, it was a short distance to Gorilla Position. They arrived just as Kaitlyn's music hit. The Diva was nowhere in sight, so AJ figured she must have already gone through the curtains. Rey Mysterio was sitting on a steel chair just inside the curtain. He was holding his ribs, and there was a small gash over his right eye, but he was grinning widely, even as one of the medical personnel checked out his injuries. AJ watched as several superstars made their way over to Rey and started congratulating him on an outstanding match.

When one of the guys actually said the phrase 'match of the year', AJ's eyes widened. "Great." From across the room, she caught Rey's eye and spread her arms, palms up. "Dude, what's the deal?" she asked in a loud voice. "You couldn't keep the bar low for me?" She smiled to show she was joking.

Rey grinned back at her and shrugged, then winced and grabbed his ribs. "Sorry, girl. You know me." The medical guy tried to move his arm to get a look at his ribs, but he used his free hand to shove the man away. "Get out of here! I'm fine." Then he turned his attention back to AJ. "You'll do great out there, girl. They'll be chanting your name soon enough. Old Rey will be just a memory." He grinned again. "Until tomorrow night, anyway."

AJ snorted and shook her head, then turned back to Natalya. "All right. This is it. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, AJ," Natalya said.

Tyson echoed his girlfriend's sentiments with, "Show her who's boss."

"Aye," Sheamus chipped in. "Kick her arse, lass."

"Thanks, guys."

Kaitlyn's music stopped playing then and AJ froze. She stayed perfectly still for a moment, focusing inward. Then she took a deep breath and turned toward the curtains. Before she could take a step forward, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see it was Natalya who'd grabbed her. "Remember what I said," the blonde Diva said. "Be careful. And we'll be watching. If she tries to cheat, me and the boys are going to hit the ring and make sure everything is fair. Okay?"

Before AJ could respond, her music hit and it was time. All she had time to do was wave to her friends and buckle the belt around her waist. Then it was show time.

The crowd popped big when AJ came through the curtains, and she loved it. She skipped to the edge of the stage and held a pose for a few seconds, basking in the wave of noise as it flowed over and around her. In that moment, with the crowd voicing their adoration, her theme music playing in her ears, and the title wrapped around her waist, she felt like she was on top of the world. Then, a huge grin splitting her face, she started down the ramp toward the ring.

As she came down the ramp, AJ kept her eyes focused on Kaitlyn, who was waiting for her in the middle of the ring. All sound faded away as she locked eyes with her former friend, who was standing perfectly still, arms crossed behind her back and a smile on her face. AJ paused at the bottom of the ramp and eyed her opponent warily for a second. When Kaitlyn didn't move, AJ frowned and slowly stepped toward the ring. She paused again as she reached the ring and stood there, both hands on the bottom rope and eyes focused on her opponent.

Suddenly, without warning, Kaitlyn leaped forward, smile replaced by bared teeth and a manic look. AJ instinctively jumped back, but Kaitlyn was moving too quickly. As she came forward, she dropped down and slid under the bottom rope, feet-first. AJ tried to get her hands up, but she was too slow and both Kaitlyn's feet caught her directly in the face. The force of it sent her careening backward. She crashed heavily on the ramp, her head cracking hard against the steel surface. The collision stunned her, and all she could do was gape as Kaitlyn dragged her back to her feet and whipped her into the steel stairs. She did manage to turn at the last second and go in back first instead of leading with her head, but it still left her lying on the ground, gasping in pain.

With her head still muddled from its collision with the ramp, it took AJ a second to realise Kaitlyn had paused the attack to root around under the ring. Blinking rapidly, she tried to pull herself together enough to get to her feet, but before she could, Kaitlyn let out a yell of triumph and rushed her.

"How does it feel to be the champ?" the larger Diva screamed, eyes wide as she stared down at AJ. Then she drew back her arm and brought the lead pipe she'd found under the ring crashing down on the champion's ankle.

AJ shrieked as pain exploded in her ankle. Instinctively, she reached for it, curling up into a small ball as she did. Unfortunately, this left her open for the second blow. The pipe caught her in the ribs, drawing another scream as she began to writhe in pain. Distracted by the agony, AJ never saw the final blow coming. The lead pipe collided with her temple as she lied there, helpless, and everything went black.

**|x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x||x|**

As AJ slowly came back to reality, all she could taste was blood. Her head was aching worse than it ever had, there was a loud ringing in her ears, and the pain in her ankle was intense. She lied still for a moment, taking stock of things before she even attempted to open her eyes. Whatever she was lying on was soft, so she definitely wasn't ringside anymore. Not to mention the lack of noise. No crowds at all. No people. Something was wrapped tightly around her head. It took a second for her mind to identify it as gauze.

_Where am I? _she thought to herself, as she tried to twist into a more comfortable position.

The movement must have tweaked something because he ribs suddenly exploded with pain. Involuntarily, she let out a little moan and immediately straightened back out.

At that moment, AJ suddenly became aware of the fact she wasn't alone. Somebody put their hands on her arm. She tried to pull away, her body instinctively trying to protect itself from further pain. But after a second, the ringing in her ears faded enough for her to hear the unknown person's voice.

"AJ! AJ! It's okay! It's just me! It's just Nattie, honey!"

The sound of her friend's voice had a pronounced impact on AJ. She immediately relaxed, safe in the knowledge that Natalya wouldn't let anything else happen to her. Slowly, she opened her eyes. She had to blink rapidly for a moment to clear them, but the lights were dim, so it wasn't too bad. Once they were open, she found herself staring up at an unadorned white ceiling. A hospital ceiling. Which could only mean the soft surface beneath her was a hospital bed. Moving at a snail's pace, she carefully turned her head until she could see Natalya. The blonde Diva was watching her closely, worry radiating from her expression. "I want to die," she gasped out, voice hoarse.

When she spoke, Natalya's face lit up. "Oh, thank God," she said, smiling widely. "I was worried. There was so much blood."

At the reminder of the beating she'd taken, AJ grimaced. When she pictured Kaitlyn's smug face in her mind, she felt a ball of white-hot rage start to form in her stomach. Immediately, she tried to quell it. With all the pain she was feeling, she knew there was nothing she could do about it right now. As much as she wanted to leap from that bed, find Kaitlyn, and beat her face in with a chair, she knew that wasn't happening.

_Revenge will come later._

With that thought, AJ refocused on Natalya. "What happened?"

Natalya hesitated for just a second before responding. "What do you remember?"

"I remember that skank hitting me in the head with a lead pipe!" Her voice was still hoarse, but the raw emotion in it was evident. "After that… nothing. Everything went black. I don't remember anything after that." She paused and made a little gesture around the room with one hand. "I don't know how I got here. I don't even know how long it's been." She levelled her gaze back on Natalya and frowned. "Tell me what happened, Nattie. Please."

Again, the other Diva hesitated. She fidgeted in her chair and drummed her fingers along the edge of the bed for a second, but couldn't look away from AJ's dark eyes. After a moment where the injured Diva didn't even blink, Natalya finally broke. "I'm sorry, honey," she said, "we tried to get down to the ring in time. Things just happened so quickly. By the time we realised what was going on, it was too late."

There was something in her voice that shook AJ to her core. Even with her mind muddled from the pain, she knew something was terribly wrong. Worried, she withdrew back into her own mind and tried to figure out what was up. It took a second for it to dawn on her what it might be.

Moving as quickly as she dared, AJ began to scan the room. Like with most hospital rooms, it was mostly bare. There was another bed off to her left, empty, and several chairs arranged at the foot of her own bed. Her Chucks, the ones she'd worn down to the ring for her match, were sitting on one of the chairs. Her blood-stained shirt and shorts were sitting next to them. The site of so much of her own blood almost made her sick to her stomach, but she fought it back because in that moment, she knew.

"Nattie," she said slowly, eyes never straying from her shoes. "Where's my belt? Where is it? Where's my championship?"

The hesitation told her all she needed to know. She turned her head to look at her friend, who was staring at her with an expression full of sadness and sympathy. "It's gone, AJ. She rolled you back into the ring after she hit you. The ref started the match and she pinned you." She paused and shook her head. "I'm so sorry, honey. Kaitlyn's the new Divas champion."

In that second, overcome by a combination of her injuries and the revelation that her championship had been stolen from her, AJ felt the world start to spin. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. She gaped at Natalya for a second. Then the darkness reclaimed her and everything faded to black.


	2. Chapter 02

**Chapter 02**

* * *

By the time the sun rose the next morning, AJ had already been awake for hours.

She woke up out of her faint around four in the morning, alone in her room. For a moment or two, she'd been terrified, confused by the unfamiliar surroundings and all the aches and pains she was feeling. But then it all came back to her. She figured the hospital staff must have made Natalya leave once visiting hours were up.

With hours of time to work with and nothing else to do, AJ spent the rest of the night replaying her attack over and over in her mind. She looked at it from every angle, tried to figure out if she could have done anything different, if there had been any signs of what was coming. While the rage she felt while thinking about it was intense, she knew it was smart to go through it now, where even if she lost control, she couldn't really hurt herself or anybody else.

When Natalya showed up the next morning, right around lunch time, she was surprised to see AJ sitting up in bed with a smile on her face. The injured Diva was holding an X-box remote and staring at a small TV that was sitting on a table at the end of the bed.

"Morning, Nattie," she said, eyes briefly darting to her friend before going back to the TV.

"Only for five more minutes." Natalya grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed. She looked to the TV for a second, then back to AJ. "Where'd you get that?"

"One of the nurses is a fan. I signed an autograph."

The two sat in silence for a moment, AJ staring at the TV and Natalya watching her friend closely. Despite her apparently upbeat mood, AJ was still clearly showing the physical signs that came with suffering a brutal beating like the one she'd taken. She was all bandaged up, and the side of her face was bruised where the pipe had hit her. Though she was sitting mostly upright, she was definitely favouring one side. Through her hospital gown, Natalya could see the bandages wrapped tightly around her friend's ribs.

Eventually, AJ sighed and put down the remote. "Nattie," she said, catching her friend's eye, "I'm fine. Nothing's permanently damaged. My brain hasn't been scrambled. The doctor said I'll probably be released tomorrow afternoon. It hurts, not gonna lie, but that'll fade." Then she smiled, and Natalya recoiled slightly at the blood-thirsty expression. "And then I'm going to find Kaitlyn and bash her head in."

Natalya wasn't sure how to respond to that. While AJ was a good friend now, and seemed to have really turned over a new leaf, the deviousness and insanity and ruthlessness that had marked the majority of her time in the WWE wasn't all that long ago. Natalya felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked at the former Divas champion and decided it was best to not say anything.

A second later, the malicious grin was gone and AJ cocked her head to the side. "Why are you alone today? Has Tyson let you out of his sight for five minutes since you were injured?" she asked, a teasing smile on her face.

Natalya snorted and shook her head. "He usually doesn't. It's endearing, really, and I love him for it. But it can get a bit annoying. Fortunately, he and Sheamus had a match against the Usos last night, so he had to stay at the arena while I came here with you. After you passed out last night, I just got a room at a hotel down the street, so I haven't seen him since last night. I did text him about twenty minutes ago though. He said he'd be here soon." She paused long enough to pull out her phone and frowned down at it. "It was weird, actually. I mean, it's hard to tell in a text, but he seemed a little... terse, I guess. He's usually a lot more... enthusiastic." Then she shrugged. "Probably just worried about you."

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Both women looked on as it swung open to reveal Tyson Kidd and Sheamus. The two men made their way into the room and Tyson headed straight for Natalya. Sheamus went to AJ, to let the other two have their moment. "How you feeling, lass?" he asked.

"Like I was beaten with a lead pipe," AJ replied, a cheeky grin on her face.

Sheamus smiled at that, but it quickly faded. AJ eyed him for a second, then glanced at Tyson. He was standing behind Natalya, arms braced on the back of her chair. He smiled briefly when she caught his eye, but it too was quickly replaced by a frown. She caught Natalya's eye, but the other Diva just shrugged, equally puzzled by their uncharacteristically sombre expressions. "All right, guys," AJ said, "What's going on? Who died?" She meant it as a joke, but when Sheamus and Tyson exchanged grim looks, AJ's blood ran cold. "Oh, God. Who died?"

"Well," Tyson began, "nobody knows for sure if he's dead or not. But it didn't look good."

Sheamus nodded. "Aye. He wasn't moving, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't breathing either. I mean, it's hard to tell with him, but..." He shook his head and sighed heavily. "It did not look good."

"Who?" AJ was nearly falling out of bed by that point, frustration and curiosity warring on her features.

Tyson hesitated for a second. Then, "Undertaker."

At that, AJ slumped back in her bed, mouth gaping open. She felt like all the air had just been knocked from her lungs. Natalya nearly fell off her chair when she swung around to look up at Tyson, her eyes open wide in shock. Both women just stared at him in shock for a second. AJ was the first to break the silence. "What?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

After opening his mouth to respond, Tyson hesitated, like he was searching for the right words. Then he exhaled heavily through his nose and hung his head.

"It was during the WWE championship match last night, lass," Sheamus said, quickly jumping in for his friend. AJ switched her gaze to the big Irish wrestler. There was a tic going in his cheek and he looked much more solemn than she could ever remember seeing him look before. "Cena hit had him down and was going at it with Daniel Bryan. And that's when Brock Lesnar showed up."

Whatever AJ was expecting, it wasn't that. She knew Brock had been in and out of the company for the last few years, but she hadn't heard anything from or about him in months.

"He took out Bryan and Cena first. Hit both of the poor bastards with an F-5. He went at Cena with a chair for a bit then, busted him up pretty bad." He paused and jerked his thumb at the door. "He's here, actually. Gonna be stayin' for a long time, from what I hear."

He fell silent then, and remained that way for several moments. It took Natalya's "And then?" to get him going again.

"And then... then he went after the Undertaker. Hit him with an F-5 off the stage. It was brutal. Absolutely brutal." Sheamus lapsed into silence and just stood there, shaking his head.

"I don't—" AJ started to say, before Tyson cut her off.

"It didn't end there. Lesnar dragged Taker back to the ring and hit him with another F-5. And then..." He hesitated for a second, eyes on AJ. She quirked an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue. "He started working him over with a weapon. A lead pipe." He let that sink in for a second before continuing. "He beat the hell out of him, man. It was crazy. There was blood everywhere." Tyson stopped and took a deep breath. "And then he just took the title and left. The refs tried to stop him, but he just went right through them. Hunter came out and tried to stop him. Brock threw him off the ramp."

"That's when the Druids showed up," Sheamus said, jumping back into the conversation. "They came out, carrying the big old coffin with them. They got the Undertaker in it and carried him out, all slow and creepy-like. It was... surreal."

The room lapsed into silence then. For her part, AJ had no idea what to say. She was in shock. She didn't know the Undertaker all that well. If she was being honest, he scared the hell out of her. She'd seen him doing some truly terrifying things before, superhuman things without explanation. But to think of that powerful man, that superhuman force lying, dead and broken in a pool of his own blood was incredibly disturbing. There was something fundamentally wrong with the whole situation, and not just the obvious thing.

Natalya was the one who finally broke the silence, drawing AJ from her thoughts. "Is there... Uh, what... What happens now?" Her voice cracked halfway through the question, but she stuck with it.

Sheamus and Tyson shared a look, before both shrugging. "Not sure," Tyson said. "I guess we'll find out on RAW tonight. Nobody knows anything right now. The Undertaker is missing. Who knows where those freaky Druids took him? Maybe Kane, I guess, but nobody can find him either. The WWE championship is with Brock now. Triple H is down for the count. I don't... I just don't know." He paused then and locked eyes with Sheamus. "But whatever happens, me and Sheamus are going to be at RAW tonight. One way or another," he said, voice hard, "we're going to get some answers." The Irishman nodded emphatically, mouth set in a grim expression.

"Damn straight," Natalya said, as she rose and turned toward her boyfriend.

Tyson immediately reached out and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "Nattie," he said, "no. Not tonight." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "Please. Until we know what's going on, just stay here with AJ. Brock's clearly on the warpath. Or off his meds, maybe. Something's up. Until we know what's up, it's best for everybody if you stay here."

From the way Natalya's face was getting more and more red, AJ knew there was an explosion coming. Not that she blamed her friend. If it was her, she knew she wouldn't want to be left behind.

But Tyson turned out to be a lot smoother than she would have guessed. Before Natalya could blow up in his face, he drew her in close and whispered something in her ear. AJ had no idea what he said, but Natalya suddenly leaned into him and returned his embrace. They stayed locked together for a moment, then broke apart. Natalya sighed and nodded. "Okay," she said. "Just this once. But next week, I'm there, with you guys. No matter what. Got it, buster?" Tyson just nodded; he knew his limit. "And you," she said, pointing a finger at Sheamus. "You watch his back. You both watch each other's backs. Understand?"

"Aye, lass. We'll be real careful."

Silence descended on the room once again, until Tyson suddenly cleared his throat and looked to Sheamus. "We should get going." To the women, he said, "We're going to check in on Cena. He took a hell of a beating last night too."

Natalya nodded. "Okay. Tell him I'll stop by and see him later."

With a few farewell waves, the two men made their way out of the room then. There was a brief moment of inactivity after the door shut behind them. Then AJ picked up the X-box remote she'd set aside earlier and held it out to Natalya. "Want to take turns?"

The two Divas spent most of the rest of the day playing video games, just killing time until RAW. Several nurses and the doctor dropped in on them over the course of the day, but there was never any bad news. AJ was still well on track to be discharged the next day. Around three, Natalya left to pick up some fast food for lunch, because AJ refused point-blank to eat the hospital food. It was nearing five when Tyson and Sheamus returned. They didn't stay long, just said they were heading to the arena and that they'd be careful.

Once the two left for RAW, both AJ and Natalya started watching the clock a lot more closely. While the two had spent the afternoon laughing and joking around for the most part, just to keep things light, as time slowly crawled toward the kick-off of RAW, they bother remained pretty quiet. They were both lost in thought, thinking about what had happened, what could happen, and just what exactly was going on.

By the time RAW finally started, both women were about ready to start tearing their own hair out. AJ cranked up the volume on the little TV as the theme music started and they both settled in for the broadcast.

As far as shows went, it wasn't terribly compelling. Right at the start, Brad Maddox came out and declared the WWE championship vacant due to Cena's inability to defend it. He scheduled a Fatal Four-way match to find a new champ later on in the night, never once bringing up the fact that Brock Lesnar had taken the belt with him when he left. No mention of the events of Survivor Series were made at all, aside from the acknowledgement of Cena's injuries. Then Maddox left and the matches started.

About five minutes into the first match, AJ knew something was up. As the show progressed, that feeling intensified. Everybody was off their game, botching moves that they'd nailed a hundred, a thousand times before. They were all a little jumpy, kept looking over their shoulders, seemingly more concerned with keeping an eye out for Brock than actually beating their opponents.

When the third hour finally came around, AJ was starting to get really antsy. She'd been waiting all night for Kaitlyn to show her face, but it hadn't happened yet. Given what went down between them, she thought Kaitlyn would want to get out in the ring and crow about her new championship.

When the announcement for the start of the Fatal Four-way came, both Divas nearly fell off their respective seats. Instead of one of the participant's themes, Kaitlyn's music started. AJ looked on in shock as the new champion headed down to ring, the belt thrown over her shoulder and a wide smile on her face. She ignored the heavy boos of the crowd and made her way over to the announce table. Instead of joining Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler though, she set up a steel chair next to them and took a seat. From their commentary, neither King nor Cole had any idea why she was at ringside. But then CM Punk's music hit and they refocused on the start of the match.

"What the hell are you up to?" AJ muttered, her eyes focused on Kaitlyn's grinning face. She could feel the rage flare up, like a fire in the pit of her stomach at the sight of her former friend. Natalya reached out and patted her hand, trying to comfort her a little, but it had no effect. AJ just gritted her teeth, her glare never wavering.

Distracted as she was, it took AJ a second to realise something was wrong. It was only when Michael Cole started yelling something that she clued into things.

"What the hell?" he shouted, rising out of his seat. "That's not CM Punk!" The camera panned up to the top of the stage, and sure enough, the man coming through the curtain was too big to be Punk. "That's… my God! That's Brock Lesnar! And he'd wearing the belt around his waist! What the hell is he doing here?"

As he made his way down the ramp, Punk's music cut off and his own theme started up. Unlike Kaitlyn, Brock wasn't grinning as he climbed into the ring. Instead, his mouth was twisted into a frown and he was glaring at everybody and everything. Somebody tossed him a mic as he stood in the center of his ring and motioned for the music to stop. A chorus of boos rained down on him, and he let it continue for a moment before lifting the mic and speaking. "My name is Brock Lesnar and I'm the best.". More boos came down at that, but this time, he cut them off immediately. "Last night, I took out three of the top Superstars on this show. Daniel Bryan is a joke. Cena won't be back for months. And Undertaker…" He finally grinned. "Undertaker's career is over. Maybe he's dead. I don't know; I'm not a doctor. But he's damn sure done in the WWE."

The commentators were completely silent, allowing Brock to say his bit. AJ and Natalya were glued to the screen, intensely curious as to where this was going.

"Why, Brock? Why? That's all I've heard today." He paused and ran a hand through his short blond hair. "It's frustrating. Isn't it obvious why? Can't you people see why I did what I did? Why it was all necessary" Slowly, he removed the belt from his waist and held it up high in his free hand. "The WWE has become a joke. Useless, worthless idiots hold the titles. They run the show, like what they know and what they think matters. I've watched them take championships that used to mean something and turn them into drawn-out punch-lines to jokes that nobody wants or needs to hear. And last night, I decided it was time for that to end. So I took this title. And…" He paused and turned toward Kaitlyn, who was still sitting on the outside. "Come on."

Kaitlyn made her way into the ring, the belt still slung over her shoulder. As soon as she stepped up next to Brock, he said, "Get your hands up, Kait. Show these people the new champ." Kaitlyn slowly raised her hands, a brilliant smile on her face. "What you see here is the start of a revolution. It's time for the championships to regain their former glory. It's time for deserving champions to claim what's rightfully theirs. John Cena. AJ Lee. Both were nothing more than glorified placeholders, keeping the spot warm until the real champs arrived. And here we are."

Even the fans were silent by that point, hanging onto Brock's every word. AJ, though she was seething internally at his words, had to admit Brock had really stepped up his promo game. She never would have expected to see anything so solid from the former UFC star.

"This title," he said, still holding up the belt, "is mine now. I took it from the former champion and that makes it mine. If anybody in the back disagrees, feel free to do something about it. If you think you can take it from me, try. Effective immediately, every title in this company will be defended under Hardcore rules. As long as there is a referee nearby to make the three-count or witness the submission, every title is fair game."

"What the hell?" AJ asked, eyes wide as she turned to Natalya. The older Diva looked equally as shocked. "He can't do that, can he?"

Natalya shrugged. "I wouldn't have thought so, but who knows? Who's going to stop him?"

Even as she spoke, Brad Maddox's music hit. The camera panned up the ramp to see him come through the curtain. And he wasn't alone. Behind him came the hulking form of the Big Show, who was glaring down at Brock in the ring. A smaller man in a black and white striped shirt came out behind them.

"Brock Lesnar," Maddox said, pausing at the top of the ramp. "Last time I checked, I was still the General Manager of RAW. You may have stolen that belt last night, but that doesn't make you God-King of the WWE. I make the matches, I decide the rules. And right now, I'm making a match. You against Big Show for the WWE title in a No-Disqualification match."

In response, Brock dropped the mic and handed the title to Kaitlyn. As she left the ring, Brock beckoned the Big Show to him. He was grinning widely and bouncing on his heels in anticipation.

Show quickly jogged down the ramp, followed by the referee, and climbed into the ring. Brock didn't give him a chance to prepare himself. Big Show didn't even make it all the way through the ropes before Brock hit him and started raining down heavy blows on his back and neck. Show gave him a hard shove, forcing him back several feet, but Brock rebounded immediately, coming forward and tackling the giant to the ground. He followed that up with a couple of vicious head stomps. By the time Show made it back to his feet, Brock was crouch and ready. He hit Big Show low and forced him back into the corner. Several high-impact shoulder thrusts to the gut had the giant down on his knees.

While Big Show was trying to clamber back to his feet, Brock went to the far side of the ring and gestured to Kaitlyn. She quickly produced a lead pipe from under the ring and tossed it to him. Then he turned back to Big Show and started working him over with the lead pipe. Brad Maddox looked on in horror from the stage as Brock systematically beat Big Show's entire body with the weapon. He ended at his head, delivering a vicious blow to the temple that immediately began to ooze blood.

Bending down, Brock flipped Show over onto his back and placed a foot on his chest. The ref hesitated for a second, then counted one-two-three and motioned for the bell to ring.

Kaitlyn immediately slid back into the ring and handed Brock a mic. With his foot still pinning Big Show to the ground, Brock grinned up at Brad Maddox. "I'm the champion, Brad. I make the rules. I'm in charge. Do not forget it. If you do…" Brock took a step back and gestured down to the broken form of the Big Show, lying at his feet.

Without a word, Maddox disappeared through the curtain, looking entirely defeated.

Brock threw an arm over Kaitlyn's shoulder and glared around at the crowd for a moment before speaking. "As I was saying: consider this the beginning of a new movement. It starts here with the WWE championship and the Divas championship. And it continues with every other championship out there." He paused and stared up the ramp at the curtain. "Everybody in the back better take notice. Things are about to change. Better get ready because nobody is ever safe." Then he dropped the mic and he and Kaitlyn posed with raised arms over the fallen Big Show as RAW ended.

For several moments after, AJ just stared at the TV screen. She was in shock. Slowly, she and Natalya turned to look at each other. "This is bad," Natalya said, eyes wide. "Really, really bad."

As AJ nodded and turned back to the TV, only one thought was running through her mind: _What do we do now?_


End file.
